Mr. Martin Hanevy:

If I can make a general point, all of this is helpful because the Minister must achieve wisdom as to where to strike the balance here. The committee, as Members of the Oireachtas, will also have similar calls to make when the legislation comes before them. I am a little worried about the INTO presentation. If I heard it correctly, it stated that because of the relationship between a principal and the board, a board could never really wish to overturn the decision of a principal. The ramifications of that are wider than just enrolment. They are about everything in school life. The principal is the person who executes the policy of the board, but is accountable to the board. If parents cannot have an appeal to a board on day-to-day matters, the enrolment is only in the ha'penny place, because that is a far more consequential matter.

On the issue of section 29 and where the balance is here, our argument is that there are other remedies. I will go through one, and this might help with the matter of Travellers as well. I want to deal with this issue-----